The importance of a shoe horn

June 20, 2012

Upon entering the Oliver Spencer Shoe Shop at No.58 Lamb’s Conduit Street one of the first things you shall notice is a chrome shoe horn hanging from the fireplace. If you are so inclined to try a pair of our shoes on you shall have the pleasure of using the Oliver Spencer shoe horn. A lot of people do not appreciate how important a shoe horn is.

A shoe horn is designed to ease your foot in to a shoe without causing any damage to the shoe’s counter. By placing the horn against the counter of the shoe it acts as a lever and gives a smoother surface to slide your foot in while also supporting the shoe’s structure. The counter is the rear of the shoe that wraps around your foot and supports your heel. If you don’t use a shoe horn then there are two ways of putting a shoe on. You can either, stick your finger in to the back and pull it on to your foot, stretching the shoe, or you can go for the worst of all options and try to put your shoes on with no hands, sliding your feet in and crushing the counter as you do so. Both ways are going to cause damage to the counter. This is actually very serious and no good for the health of the shoe.The counter is extremely important for the structure of the whole shoe, if it is damaged and loses its stiffness then the whole shoe will lose structure and no longer fit correctly or offer good support. A firm counter supports your heel and arch and reduces over-pronation. Pronation being the flexing of the ankle. Over-pronation stresses the tissues around your ankle and foot which will lead to various foot conditions including flat feet and heel pain.

Our Made in England shoes have goodyear welts and can be re-soled as many times as you like, meaning of course that they last a long time. However, if you ruin the counter then the shoe is ruined also and cannot be repaired. So make your shoes and feet last and invest in a shoe horn. We shall soon be stocking shoe horns from Abbey horn, a manufacturer of horn goods, ethically sourced and Made In England. Be sure to pop in the shoe shop in a few weeks to pick one up.

From early beginnings as a self-taught tailor and shopkeeper, Oliver Spencer has built a brand
around his vision: hand-crafted quality paired with stylish accents and details. In the words of
GQ, a ‘uniquely British take on relaxed style’.